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The Situation Room
President Bush Calls for Increase in Size of U.S. Military; First Lady's Bout With Cancer; Miss USA Gets Second Chance
Aired December 19, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Kitty, thanks very much. And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you tonight's top stories.
Happening now, President Bush calls for a bigger U.S. military to try to meet the challenges of a long-term war against terror. But is a possible short-term troop increase in Iraq pitting the White House right now against the generals?
It's been more than a month since the first lady Laura Bush had a malignant skin cancer removed, so why is the White House only now making it public?
And Miss USA made some mistakes. The pageant boss, Donald Trump, could have said you're fired. Instead he's sending her to rehab. Jeanne Moos will tell us what it's all about.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tonight, President Bush is responding to growing concerns that America's troops are spread too thin and may be near the breaking point. In an interview with "The Washington Post" today, Mr. Bush says he asked his new defense secretary, Robert Gates, to now draw up new plans, plans to expand the overall size of the United States military. That word coming even as the White House is said to be considering a short-term increase of troop strength in Iraq.
Our Brian Todd is standing by. First let's go to the White House. Ed Henry, our correspondent has the latest developments -- Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, not totally unexpected but dramatic, nonetheless. A senior administration official here confirming that in fact the president has asked his new defense secretary to draw up these plans to figure out how they can get more ground forces, increase the so-called end strength (ph) of the military overall. Officials here cautioning that this is not though a confirmation that the president is approving a surge of some 30, 40,000 U.S. troops, more U.S. troops to go into Iraq.
Instead, saying this is about the broader context of trying to rebuild the military. The president himself first disclosing this to "The Washington Post" quote, "I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops, the Army, the Marines, and I talked about this to Secretary Gates and he's going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building, come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward on this idea.
The other thing officials here are pointing out is this is budget season in Washington, that the president broadly speaking was trying to get this not only on the radar of his own budget writers here at the White House but of the new Democratic Congress coming into power. And if you'll look at the timetable, even if this is approved by Congress, the millions, billions of dollars it will take to increase the size of the military that will take months, maybe even a year or so to really get it going.
So the White House pointing out this would not enable an immediate surge. This is going to take a long time. Instead, a surge would be fueled by extending the tours of duties of those already serving in Iraq. And the bottom line here is that they're saying that basically this is something that would rebuild the military overall and certainly it could pave the way for the president to make the case for a short-term search by saying that on the back end he's rebuilding the military -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Except, you know, when I read the interview in "The Washington Post" that the president gave Peter Baker, their correspondent there, the first thing that jumped out at me was that this statement from the president saying he wants a bigger U.S. Marine Corps, a bigger U.S. Army clearly coming a day after Rumsfeld leaves, Gates takes over the Pentagon, it certainly looked like a slap or rebuke of Rumsfeld who, for six years, was resisting bigger. He wanted leaner, smaller, high-tech. He didn't want that big military.
HENRY: Absolutely, Rumsfeld's philosophy trying to do more with less. This certainly does seem like a bit of a repudiation of that philosophy. Also, though keep in mind, the pressure on the president building. His own Army chief of staff last week suggesting the Army close to being broken because of the strain and the president's former secretary of state, former Joint Chiefs chairman as well, Colin Powell, over the weekend agreeing with those comments that the Army is close to being broken. Clearly, the president got that message -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Stand by for a moment, Ed. There's another story I want to see if we're getting any White House reaction to. Iraq's vice president saying he's almost convinced -- he almost convinced the British Prime Minister Tony Blair a few months ago to support a timetable for coalition troops to withdraw from Iraq. But Tariq al- Hashimi says Mr. Blair was simply brainwashed out of doing that by President Bush, Reuters quoting al-Hashimi's remarks today before the New York Council on Foreign Relations -- Ed, any reaction from the White House?
HENRY: One official here at the White House almost laughing this off saying that they just do not believe this has any credibility. This official saying that Tony Blair is not someone who's going to be brainwashed, that he determined on his own that he wanted to go into Iraq, that he saw the terrorism threat all around the world and that Tony Blair is still the president's strongest ally there and that he was not leaning towards pulling out troops in any form or fashion -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ed Henry at the White House. Thanks for that.
President Bush may be poised to issue another set of marching orders for a short-term boost in troop levels in Iraq. But tonight the military brass pushing back against an idea that appears to be gaining momentum, as we just heard from Ed over at the White House.
Let's get some more on the battle lines being drawn. Brian Todd picking up this part of the story -- Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the president has said it repeatedly. He trusts his commanders to give him the best advice on how to win in Iraq, but tonight a serious question is raised. Is the president listening to his generals?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): A roadside bomb injured store-goers. Gunmen, some wearing security force uniforms, hold up government workers transferring cash, the take, nearly $1 million. Baghdad has become a city so dangerous it's ignited multiple rounds of political in- fighting 6,000 miles away in Washington. The latest, President Bush is considering a short-term surge in U.S. troop levels to secure the Iraqi capital, as many as 30,000.
Some reports say there's a strong push for this inside the White House. Pentagon sources tell CNN top military leaders are against the idea, unless there's a defined mission. The generals have been clear about this in recent weeks.
GEN. JOHN ABIZAID, CMDR, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: I do not believe that more American troops right now is the solution to the problem.
TODD: White House officials pressed on whether they're at logger heads with their commanders...
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The notion that somehow there's some sort of feud between the president and the Joint Chiefs would be wrong.
TODD: But this goes beyond Pennsylvania Avenue and the Pentagon. Listen to the incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee on the idea of a surge in troops.
REP. IKE SKELTON (D), INCOMING ARMED SERVICES CHMN: I don't think it will change a thing. It could actually exacerbate the situation even further.
TODD: Congressman Ike Skelton worried the Army and Marines are already stretched too thin. Others say more U.S. troops will inspire more insurgent attacks, but while in Baghdad recently, the Republican presidential frontrunner painted a bleak picture of security.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I'd like to say that I believe conditions have improved. Certainly in Baghdad, they have not. I believe that there is still a compelling reason to have an increase in troops.
TODD: A former adviser to Republican and Democratic presidents believes this increasingly public debate is corrosive.
DAVID GERGEN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISER: The very length of this review has invited a lot of second guessing about whether the administration knows what it's doing. And now this cascade of leaks has made it even more apparent that there's a great deal of uncertainty if not confusion and chaos within the administration only an issue as so central to his presidency is so central to the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: But David Gergen says it's understandable the president is agonizing over this. He says it will be the most important decision Mr. Bush made on Iraq since he ordered the invasion -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We're going to be watching it every step of the way -- Brian, thanks very much. Brian Todd reporting.
We just received a clip from "The Washington Post" interview with the president earlier today in the Oval Office. I want you to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've been thinking about and talking to a lot of people about, you know, the way forward in Iraq and the way forward in this ideological struggle.
I want to share one thought I had with you, and I'm inclined to believe that we do need to increase our troops -- the Army and the Marines. And I talked to this about Secretary Gates, and he's going to spend some time talking to the folks in the building and come back with a recommendation to me about how to proceed forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Clearly the president, once again, effectively repudiating the former secretary of defense, Donald Rumsfeld, who for six years, resisted, resisted repeated efforts by the Army, by the Marine Corps, a lot of members of Congress to build up the overall strength of the U.S. military. President now on this day after Robert Gates become secretary of defense saying, guess what? I want a bigger Marine Corps. I want a bigger Army. We'll stay on top of this story and we're going to have more on this coming up this hour. Democratic congressman and war critic John Murtha, we'll get his take on a possible troop increase in Iraq, a new word that the president wants to expand the overall size of the military.
Jack Cafferty is joining us from New York now with "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: A related matter, Wolf, America's addiction to oil has put it in a very dangerous position. A council on foreign relations report says the dependence on oil has weakened this country's foreign policy influence. We currently import 60 percent of the oil we consume. We have less than five percent of the world's population and yet the United States consumes 25 percent of the world's oil. And you wonder why people don't like us.
Former Defense Secretary James Schlesinger, the co-chairman of the group that wrote this report, says that a spike in oil prices of more than 40 percent over the last two years has undercut Washington's power even more. Our dependence forces us now to compete with countries like China and India for oil. And that's not all.
The report found the oil wealth of exporting countries, Iran, Russia, Venezuela, has allowed them to embrace policies that are counter to U.S. interests. The answers to all of this are pretty simple. The report recommends the following. Increasing our efficiency of oil and gasoline use, switching to alternative energy, getting oil from places other than the Middle East and increasing investment in new energy technologies. This is all stuff we've known for decades but we refuse to do it.
Here's the question. What effect does U.S. oil dependency have on its foreign policy? E-mail your thoughts to CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile. Mind-boggling numbers, less than five percent of the world's population and we suck up 25 percent of the oil, Wolf.
BLITZER: Jack, thanks for that. Jack will be back with your e- mail. That's coming up.
And still coming up next, there's more on the search for the survivors. Rescue workers hoping against hope in a race against time. We'll find out why pictures of the missing climbers may hold some clues.
Also Laura Bush's skin cancer, a closer look at her condition and why it took so long for the White House to announce it.
And Dick Cheney called to court. We'll find out why he's being asked to take the stand in a criminal case.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Rescuers are holding on hope they'll find those missing climbers on Oregon's Mt. Hood. But they're making a significant change in their tactics tonight.
Let's turn to CNN's Rob Marciano. He's joining us now live from Hood River in Oregon. What happened today, Rob?
ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well two things happened today, Wolf. One, they sent the Oregon National Guard home. The Air Guard that was assisting in bringing the high mountain rescue crews up to the higher elevations of the mountain, those helicopters have been sent home to stand by and to regroup, maybe be pulled back if we see more clues. The other significant development today or really in the last 24 hours is when Kelly James was brought down off the mountain, the body of Kelly James, not only did he have a shoulder injury, which told us what we originally thought was there with an injury, but he also had a camera.
And pictures on that camera, although not released to the media, as described to us, it shows the route they took, which was up that Eliot Glacier and up the gullies, which is the dangerous part of the mountain and they did summit. After they summited, that's when they began to run into problems. The other thing that those pictures showed us was what kind of equipment they had with them. And they confirmed what rescuers thought originally. They were packed lightly in order to travel quickly which is good for their climb if they get up and down.
But if they get stuck up there, that causes some problems and they don't have enough fuel to melt water for a long period of time, you don't have enough food to sustain yourself and get energy for a long period of time. Today, they did search the mountain even though it was cold and cloudy down here, above 2,000 feet. The visibility was good. So two fixed-wing aircraft went up to look for more clues, even brought family members up there to not only look for themselves, but to take pictures. But it gets to a point, Wolf, day after day after day, and the question was asked this morning, at what point do you stop looking?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERIFF JOE WAMPLER, HOOD RIVER COUNTY, OREGON: This office is not going to give up until somebody tells me that the risk of doing this thing outweighs the results. And until I hear that, I'm not giving up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: There would be another window, albeit brief, tomorrow morning before weather rolls in. After that, weather goes downhill, snow, freezing rain and winds will take over the mountain tomorrow afternoon and it will last through at least Thursday night -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Rob, thanks very much. Rob Marciano on the scene for us. Could the right tools though have made the difference for those climbers? There are some high-tech devices experts say no climber should be without.
Let's turn to CNN's Carol Costello. She's in New York with our "Welcome to the Future" report -- Carol.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: You know, Wolf, those pictures Rob just talked about showed three happy climbers lightly but well- equipped. It's the lightly part that's worrisome. It may have cost them their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SOUNDS) COSTELLO (voice-over): As the search grows more desperate, uneasy questions keep popping up. Could the climbers have saved themselves if only? Did the thrill of the climb override the need for life-saving equipment?
(on camera): Is it sort of like riding a roller coaster? It's that sense of danger that makes it even more exciting.
WILLIAM BAER, CLIMBING EXPERT: Yes, absolutely but it's also in your control. I mean the errors happen oftentimes are human errors. In this situation, I think it was just one of those things, you know, that was unpreventable.
COSTELLO (voice-over): William Baer teaches people to climb inside and out. He blames the sudden change in the weather for the tragedy on Mt. Hood. Kelly James, Brian Hall, and Jerry "Nikko" Cooke seemed to have everything they needed -- pick axes, bedding, food, rope, maps, and a cell phone and decades of experience between them. But other climbers say they should have had one more thing. Easily available life-saving technology.
MITCH JACKSON, TENTS & TRAILS: It's never not necessary.
COSTELLO: Mitch Jackson, an avid climber, who works at a sporting goods store, Tents and Trails in Manhattan, says that necessary thing would be an avalanche tracker. Example, a jacket with a transmitter in the sleeve.
JACKSON: They can use radar now with this. And this will reflect back the radar signal. Similar to like what a bat does when it's looking for bugs. It will send out a signal and what bounces back, he knows that there is something there.
COSTELLO: There are other impressive devices as well, avalanche beacons worn on the outside of your coat sending off signals down to 35 meters so if you're buried beneath the snow, pinpointing you becomes easier.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.
COSTELLO (on camera): That is awesome.
JACKSON: And there it is. I am point-one meters away.
COSTELLO (voice-over): As far as we know, the two missing climbers did not carry one of these devices with them. They did have a cell phone, which is how they located Kelly James. A positive but it could not pinpoint his location exactly. And when it was found near his body, it was wet and un-operational.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Also climbers usually never leave someone alone behind. They usually travel in even numbers so an injured climber need never be alone if two others set off for help -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Carol, thanks very much. We're going to stay on top of this story for our viewers.
Still to come tonight right here in THE SITUATION ROOM the fight over the war. Congressman John Murtha explains why he thinks President Bush is simply dead wrong right now.
Also from beauty pageant runway to rehab, our Jeanne Moos has the story of Miss USA's long walk toward redemption.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: In Gaza, the two main Palestinian factions are trying to scramble back from the edge of the cliff. They've just begun yet another cease-fire hoping to put an end to the bloody gun battles that have brought them dangerously close to civil war among the Palestinians themselves. The last truce broke down within 24 hours.
CNN's Ben Wedeman was caught right in the middle of the violence today -- Ben.
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, the fighting began before dawn in Gaza and went on sporadically all day long.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SHOTS)
WEDEMAN (voice-over): It's time to run for your life.
(SHOTS)
The cease-fire is collapsing.
(SHOTS)
This gun battle between Palestinian police and the Hamas militia broke out as school children were out on a lunch break. Shopkeeper Hader Alian (ph) is closing up.
"I'm going home," he tells me. "I'm afraid. We're done with. It's never been this bad."
Hopes that truce between the Fatah-controlled police and the Hamas militia would hold are fading fast, as gangland style warfare seems to take hold.
Elsewhere in Gaza City, vendors pack up, another gun battle brewing just up the street. As members of Palestinian military intelligence, angry over the killing of a comrade, try but fail to trash a Hamas banner. They were interrupted by more gunfire.
(SHOTS)
Every new death brings new cause for revenge, a vicious cycle of killing and counter killing no one seems able to stop. At this funeral for a Fatah member killed in clashes with Hamas, curses for the militant Islamic group.
As they head to the graveyard, yet more shooting. We run into the first open door.
(SHOTS)
(SHOUTING)
(on camera): We've taken cover inside a vegetable store here in Gaza City. There's a gunfire going on outside between members of Palestinian security and unknown others somewhere out there.
(SHOTS)
(voice-over): Gunmen told us if we videotaped anymore, they'd shoot us. So all we could do was set the camera on the ground and let it roll, recording as this city descends into chaos.
(SHOTS)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WEDEMAN: Wolf, efforts are under way by for instance Jordan's King Abdullah to intercede, to stop the fighting between Fatah and Hamas, but so far those efforts have yet to meet with any success -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman in Gaza, doing dangerous work for us. Thank you very much. And just ahead, troops surge in Iraq. Find out why some think it's a bad idea, a very bad idea. One of them, Congressman John Murtha.
And later, first lady Laura Bush's mystery bandage, what it's concealing and why it took so long to learn about it.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: To our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Happening now, a growing force President Bush telling "The Washington Post" he wants to make America's military bigger. He acknowledges the troops are stretched too thin to meet global challenges in the war on terror.
Also this hour, a star witness, defense lawyers confirm Vice President Dick Cheney will be called to testify in the trial of his former chief of staff. Lewis "Scooter" Libby is charged with perjury and obstruction in the CIA leak case. Cheney's spokeswoman says he will cooperate.
And no breakthroughs, a top U.S. envoy reports no progress yet in convincing North Korea to dismantle its nuclear program. The two countries are a day into their first face-to-face talks in more than a year.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
The pressure on President Bush is greater than ever to start bringing U.S. troops home from Iraq. But Mr. Bush's idea of fixing the Iraq problem may turn out to be a short-term surge in troop levels in Iraq. I spoke with a key player in the political debate over Iraq earlier today.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: Joining us now, one of the early and most influential voices in the push toward a troop pullout, Democratic Congressman John Murtha of Pennsylvania is joining us on the phone.
Congressman, thanks very much for coming in. What do you make of this idea of having a short-term surge, as they're calling it, 20,000, 30,000 U.S. troops deployed to the Baghdad area to try to bring some sort of stability there?
REP. JOHN MURTHA (D), PENNSYLVANIA: Well, Wolf, let's look at the results of what happened. They put 10,000 more troops into the area. They've increased significantly troops in the Baghdad area and it's gotten worse.
The incidents, attacks, I call them, have increased, have doubled. They're up 973 a week now. More Iraqis being killed. More security people being killed. More Americans being killed. That's with more troops. They've had 130,000 troops on the ground and it hasn't gotten better.
And in the second place, we don't have the troops to send in there for a sustained period of time. So there's no question, in my mind, the chiefs may not say this publicly, but there's no question, they're very concerned.
They do not have an achievable mission and that's the thing the troops tell me, that's the thing the generals tell me.
BLITZER: Here's what Tony Snow, the White House press secretary, said today, responding to this report in the "Washington Post" that there is a split between the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the White House on this notion of a surge for six months or a year of 20,000, 30,000 additional troops in Iraq. Listen to what Tony Snow said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The idea that there is a decision and a squabble would be wrong. I've also cautioned people that, tonally, it is incorrect to say that the president is in any sort of contretemps with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. They work together. The president has a great deal of respect for the chain of command.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: All right, what do you think about that?
MURTHA: Well, I think the chiefs are very concerned and rightly so. The troops have been overextended. We sent the troops in there with inadequate equipment, in the first place, and they keep going back three and four, five -- some of them five times.
So there's no question we would have a difficult time meeting that goal. So they have to have objections. None of them told me that personally, but there is no question, in my mind, they would object to more troops.
And the second thing and the most important thing is they don't have an achievable mission, a defined mission which they can point to. What's the point in sending another 40,000 troops? And the situation has been that they have more troops in Baghdad and things have gotten worse.
And then we'd be fighting Shias. In other words, you're going to be caught in a civil war fighting Shias. We're already fighting the Sunnis. Now we're going to be fighting the Shias. It just makes it worse.
Only the Iraqis can handle this thing, though, Wolf. We cannot handle it. We have defined ourselves, we're occupying the country, we've made enemies with the way we operate and the troops are doing a magnificent job, but the point is, they have no mission and that's a political decision made by the president and that's why the chiefs have to object to it.
BLITZER: The new defense secretary, Robert Gates, said yesterday that failure in Iraq, in his words, "would be a calamity."
Here's the question to you. Has the U.S. already lost in Iraq?
MURTHA: Militarily, we've lost. There's no question about it. We cannot win this militarily.
The way we have to operate when we go into an area, we went into Fallujah, we put 300,000 people outside their homes. The way we operate in all these places, kicking down the doors and so forth, the military, in order to protect lives of Americans -- and I agree with that, but the problem is it makes enemies. Abu Ghraib is another example when you have untrained people handling this kind of stuff. You don't have enough people.
So, militarily, we're already to the point where the troops are doing everything they're asked to do. I'm inspired by the troops, but that's not the point.
They don't have a defined mission and it's not getting better, so we have to find a way to redeploy these troops. There'll be some instability, but they have to settle it themselves.
One year ago, I spoke out and the incidents were 400 a week and now they are 973, 93 a day, attacks a day. BLITZER: What about this fear that the White House and other supporters of the president say that if the U.S. were to pull out, a defeated U.S. military, a defeated U.S. would send a horrible signal to the rest of the region and there could potentially be an al Qaeda- like mini enclave or mini state within Iraq itself that would represent a long-term threat to the U.S.?
MURTHA: Well, the administration said it was an al Qaeda connection. The administration said there were weapons of mass destruction. The administration said we're going in there to topple Saddam Hussein. The administration said we're going in to spread democracy.
Just because they say it doesn't mean it's so. And I'm convinced, and Iraqis say this themselves, there will be more stability in the long run and no matter what we try to do, this is only short-term fixes.
Only the Iraqis can do this. There is no way the United States can solve this problem. We have gotten so far out and we missed our opportunity, if we ever had an opportunity early on, to stabilize Iraq.
Since we didn't do it then, it cannot be done now. I am convinced the best thing for the United States, the best American policy, what's in the best interest of America, and that's to get our troops redeployed out of there.
And I don't mean partially. I mean out of there in a -- even in their new report, they say that they believe that stability can come about when you have a negotiated timeline.
This is a new report that they just sent to us from the State and Defense Department about stability in Iraq.
BLITZER: We've got to leave it right there. Congressman John Murtha, thanks for spending a few moments with us here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
MURTHA: Good talking to you, Wolf.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And the U.S. war in Iraq continues to take a very heavy financial toll. The White House budget director, Rob Portman, says the war's price tag is likely to exceed -- take a listen to this -- $110 billion in the 2007 fiscal year that's already underway. That amounts to more than $2 billion spent every week on the war, and it's close to an all-time high cost of $120 billion that was spent in the 2006 fiscal year.
Still ahead tonight here in THE SITUATION ROOM, the first lady in her fight against skin cancer. Find out why it took several weeks for the White House to go public with that information.
Also, she's not fired. Donald Trump gives Miss USA a second chance, sending her straight to rehab. We'll tell you why. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're learning more about a skin cancer scare involving the first lady, Laura Bush. The White House now says she had a malignant skin tumor removed from her right leg shortly after Election Day.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Joining us now, our White House correspondent, Suzanne Malveaux. She's with us in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Suzanne, this was a surprise the first lady had this form of skin cancer. It was removed, but they didn't tell us about it. What's the story behind the story?
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, you're absolutely right, Wolf. And I talked to the press secretary of the first lady who said, look, you know, it was a private matter. She didn't feel like she needed to disclose it. But, quite frankly, she was found out. I mean, it happened shortly before Election Day. A reporter noticed a bandage that was on her leg, asked her about it. The press secretary said it's a sore. And then later we found out that it was a sore that wasn't going away. She got a biopsy, later discovered that it was cancer and had this growth that was actually removed.
The reason we found out about it last night was another reporter saw her at this Hanukkah party, and, again, there was a big bandage that was on her leg, asked about it and her office decided this was the time to come clean with the procedure.
BLITZER: You know, there's one rule -- I covered the White House -- for the president, the vice president, whatever medical condition they have that might go wrong, that immediately is supposed to be shared with the press corps, with the news media.
But there's a separate set of rules for the family, if you will, including the first lady.
MALVEAUX: Well, absolutely, because, really, she has the same legal/medical privacy rights that you and I do. That's something that the White House talked about today. It's something her office as well talked about. So she felt that she had a sense to keep that to herself. But we have seen in the past some first ladies, Betty Ford as you know, who revealed her alcoholism, Nancy Reagan, her breast cancer, there has been some precedent for being a little bit more open. But, as you know, this White House isn't always that way.
BLITZER: I suspect we will be hearing from the first lady down the road, Laura Bush, and she'll talk about the dangers of skin cancer. She's gone through it now and what all of us should be doing to make sure we avoid the sun, at least too much.
Suzanne, thanks very much for coming in. MALVEAUX: Sure.
BLITZER: There's a new turf war underway between two of the top prospects for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008. That would be Senator John McCain and former New York Rudy Giuliani.
Our Mary Snow is watching what some are calling this clash of the GOP Goliaths -- Mary.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this clash between the GOP front runners comes over Republican dollars. As Rudi Giuliani hosts a $2,100 per person fund raiser here in New York, he's getting some competition in his home city from Senator McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): In a town never known for subtly, Arizona Senator John McCain's message to Rudy Giuliani may be as glaring as the city's bright lights. McCain's message: I'm on your turf.
On the same day as Giuliani's first fund-raiser for his presidential exploratory committee, McCain's camp released a list of his Republican donors in the New York area.
DAVID WINSTON, REPUBLICAN CONSULTANT: McCain's strategy here is, whenever one of his major opponents has a major event, he tries to come in with another news story.
SNOW: McCain's camp says it has lined up names for his finance team that include former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and John Thain, the head of the New York Stock Exchange.
When asked about the timing of the announcement, a McCain adviser says: "We are going to run an aggressive campaign. We are not going to cede any territory." A spokeswoman for Giuliani declined comment. But, recently, the former New York City mayor admitted that questions about money are on the list when considering challenging other Republicans for the '08 nomination.
RUDOLPH GIULIANI (R), FORMER MAYOR OF NEW YORK: Can you win? Can you do a better job than they can do? Can you raise as much money or a competitive amount of money?
SNOW: Giuliani and McCain are considered the front-runners, but some recent national polls show Giuliani in the lead, despite all the talk that his support of abortion and gay rights won't fare well with conservatives.
Outgoing Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney currently ranks third for the GOP nomination.
Republican strategist David Winston says, having two GOP front- runners this early on could make potential candidates think twice.
WINSTON: I think what it's going to do is, it's going to make people take a more realistic view of what can be achieved and not achieved. And having two people that far out in front is a bit sobering, I think, to a lot of candidates -- potential candidates.
SNOW: One potential candidate is former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who says he will wait until Labor Day before deciding whether he will seek the GOP nomination.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(on camera): Now here in New York, one question being asked, who will win support from the city's mayor, Mike Bloomberg. A Republican who also happens to be a billionaire, Bloomberg says he's remaining neutral. Giuliani helped get him elected as mayor and McCain is an old friend and supporter, not to mention the fact that Bloomberg is also being talked about as a possible candidate in '08 -- Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll watch all of this with you together, Mary. Thanks very much for that.
Let's find out what's coming up right at the top of the hour. Paula Zahn has a special. She's reporting tonight from Beaumont, Texas, preparing for a very important town hall meeting about racism in America.
Give our viewers a sense of what you're up to, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, you can see I'm joined by over 100 people here who will be part of that town hall meeting in Beaumont tonight. Wolf, this ended up happening as a result of a show we did just last week on race. And in that show, we had one story about the small town of Vidor, Texas. This is a town that many decades ago was a sundown town, where blacks were discouraged from being outside after dark, one of many sundown towns around the country.
Well, that story provoked so much reaction, very mixed reaction, we decided to come back here tonight and not only explore the scars of that legacy in Vidor, we're going to talk to some people who think that it's very much being exploited, others who think there's some real problems to address here and expand the discussion beyond that to the rest of the nation, because, as you and I both well know, Wolf, there's tremendous contention around the country involving issues of race.
BLITZER: This is going to be a very important town hall meeting, a special "PAULA ZAHN NOW", "OUT IN THE OPEN: RACISM IN AMERICA" comes up in about 14 minutes.
Paula, we'll be watching and I know our viewers are anticipating an excellent discussion on an important subject.
And just ahead, inside the other situation room, you know, the one at the White House, they're getting a high-tech upgrade. Can it compete with this situation room?
And later, beauty and the Donald. She got caught letting her hair down just a little bit too much. Jeanne Moos tells us what happens next.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Big changes being unveiled over at the other situation room here in Washington. that would be over at the West Wing of the White House.
Let's go back to our White House correspondent Ed Henry. He's got the details -- Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, this renovation was being planned as early as 2001, a few years before CNN's situation room. But a few senior officials here admit they did have at least a little bit of Wolf-envy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice-over): You're in the situation room, the real one at the White House, used for 40 years as the hub for national security meetings. And just like the CNN version, it's getting an infusion of state of the art electronics after President Bush grew increasingly frustrated it wasn't up to snuff in a post 9/11 world and tasked top aide Joe Hagin to fix it.
JOE HAGIN, W.H. DEPUTY CHIEF OF STAFF: It was very plain, very simple. Two conference rooms and a sort of a rabbit warren row of desks where various officers set.
HENRY: It has been glamorized in plenty of movies, like "Air Force One." In TV shows like "24" and "West Wing." But the genuine situation room hadn't changed much since President Kennedy created it during the Cuban missile crisis. With few updates as presidents from Lyndon Johnson to Bill Clinton dealt with foreign crises. And White House aides dealt with fallout from the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan.
Renovations were already being planned before the terror attacks of 9/11. But that day convinced the White House it was time for a complete demolition.
HAGIN: Well, I think the president was very open after September 11. His frustration on that day not being able to communicate effectively, 100 percent of the time. And we really kicked into high gear after that.
HENRY: The new and improved sit room has a direct, secure feed to Air Force One. No less than five rooms for secure video conferences instead of two and 40 miles of communications cables. Sure, there were national security reasons for the refurbishing. But with all these flat screen TVs, was the White House also just a little bit envious of Wolf Blitzer.
HAGIN: No, we don't have Wolf's budget, but given the money we had available, it was nice. We also don't have -- the stage is not there like Wolf has. We can't move around the screens with quite the grace and finesse that he does. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now Joel Hagin says that it's ahead of schedule and under budget, but he won't reveal the cost. That's classified, Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll teach him how to move the screens around. The White House eventually will get the hang of that.
Ed Henry, thanks very much, having a little fun in the White House situation room, always having fun in our situation room as well.
Jack Cafferty is in THE SITUATION ROOM every day. Aren't you happy about that, Jack?
CAFFERTY: Yes, a barrel of laughs here, five days a week, right?
BLITZER: It is.
CAFFERTY: Ed Henry should be fired for that. Immediately, no severance pay, nothing, just throw him out.
The question this hour is what effect does U.S. oil dependency have on its foreign policy?
J. in Atlanta writes, "Good lord Jack, it's like asking what effect the sun has on daisies. Until we wean ourselves from oil or find a huge and/or alternative supply that we can control, we'll continue to learn to focus on unsavory names and regimes, such as Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and several other ideological pygmies. We're a national of energy consumption. See that camera in front of you? The very energy that drives it is predominantly from the Middle East. So are the products you will advertise to me when your segment ends."
Susan in North Carolina: "Our dependency has everything to do with our foreign policy. If there were oil in Darfur, we would be there in great numbers right now."
Pat in Pasadena, California: "Oil dependency has us funding both sides of the war on terror. We're paying to fight an enemy who's financed by our pump purchases. It makes us look like we have zero credibility. Our oil dependency encourages the petro-producers to be bad world citizens and to treat their own citizens poorly. They blame us and hate us, and we end up having to shape a foreign policy to defend ourselves against enemies we've created with our oil dependency. Nuts, isn't it?"
Sandy in Tampa: "Our foreign policy is so covered in crude, I can't read it. Until we abandon our gas guzzling ways with the same enthusiasm as we point fingers at those in power, we're all covered in. I spend $38 a month on gasoline. Anyone care to join me in this race for our very survival?"
And finally L. writes: "Jack, you asked the question backwards. You need to ask what effect our government policy has on our oil dependency. No market driven forces are going to wean us off oil. The government has to guide and bring about major infrastructure changeover. But the government's beholden to big oil and all the business interrelationships that go hand-in-hand with helping the oil industry to continue as a goose who has laid golden eggs for some very lucky ducks."
If you didn't see your e-mail here, you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile and read more of these online -- Wolf?
BLITZER: Used to hear a lot of this almost 30 years ago during the Jimmy Carter administration, that things haven't really changed all that much. Jack, thank you for doing that.
Still ahead, Miss USA joins a long list of celebrities and congressmen. She's going straight to rehab to save her job. Jeanne Moos has the story of the beauty and the Donald. Stay with us, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: There are two new entries on the prize list for the winner of the Miss USA beauty pageant. One, a trip to rehab. And two, a second chance courtesy of the man himself, Donald Trump. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She went from the beauty pageant runway to the New York City media gauntlet.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Tara, are the allegations true?
MOOS: Apparently some were, admitted a tearful Miss USA.
TARA CONNER, MISS USA: I want to apologize to my family if I've put any disgrace upon you.
MOOS: There were things you never expected to hear coming out of Miss USA's mouth.
CONNER: I wouldn't say that I'm an alcoholic.
DONALD TRUMP, REAL ESTATE MOGUL: She's agreed to go into rehab.
MOOS (on camera): Think of it as a New York Christmas story, a story of alleged sin and televised redemption.
(voice-over): First there were the stories of wild partying, under-age drinking and an allegedly failed drug test for cocaine. Pageant owner, Donald Trump, summoned Tara Conner. Her heels clicking on the marble of Trump Tower. While an army of press waited, Trump got her side of the story behind closed doors, fully prepared to say what's written on the hats of his employees, you're fired. And then.
TRUMP: Tara is going to be given a second chance.
CONNER: I've had a very big blessing bestowed upon me. And you will never know how much I appreciate Mr. Trump for saving me on this one.
MOOS: All of this is in the atrium of Trump Tower with tourists gawking from the balconies and press shooting from the escalators. When the Donald delivered her from evil, there was a smattering of applause. Tara stepped away to returned to once again don our Miss USA sash, an unexpected outcome.
(on camera): What do you he decided?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Heave-ho.
MOOS: He kept her.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: With him, it's hard to tell.
TRUMP: Tara is going to become the great comeback kid.
MOOS (voice-over): Not since Vanessa Williams gave up her crown because of some "Penthouse" photos in 1984.
VANESSA WILLIAMS, ACTRESS: And I must relinquish my title as Miss America.
MOOS: Has there been such hoopla over a tiara.
CONNER: My personal demons are my personal demons.
MOOS: And though Tara kept her tiara...
CONNER: ... I swear I will not let you down.
MOOS: Skeptics abound.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There are two things that don't work in this world of ours. One is anger management, the other is rehab. She'll be back.
MOOS: Reporters wanted to know about stories Miss USA had been seen kissing Miss Teen USA.
CONNER: Katie Blair is a wonderful Miss Teen USA. I hate that she got dragged into all of this. She's a good girl.
MOOS: Good girls, bad girls. What would Santa say? Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: And a special edition of "PAULA ZAHN NOW" begins right now.
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